MMA

Bo Nickal vs. Olympic champion Shirvani Muradov set for RAF Moscow

Published

3 months ago

August 6, 2026

Bo Nickal vs. Olympic champion Shirvani Muradov set for RAF Moscow

Bo
Nickal will remain active on the wrestling mats while awaiting
his next
Ultimate Fighting Championship bout.

The UFC middleweight has been booked for another Real American
Freestyle matchup, as the promotion recently announced that Nickal
will face Olympic gold medalist Shirvani Muradov.

Bo Nickal prepares for Real American Freestyle matchup against
2008 Olympic gold medalist Shirvani Muradov

Nickal has booked another RAF appearance shortly after his RAF 12
bout with Max McEnelly, which will take place on Aug. 22. He will
face Muradov in Moscow on Sept. 5, according to an announcement
from RAF on X.

Nickal last competed at
UFC Freedom 250, where he earned a first-round victory over
Kyle
Daukaus to extend his winning streak. Instead of waiting for
his next fight, Nickal is continuing to hone his wrestling
skills.

The 30-year-old made his RAF debut at the promotion’s inaugural
event in August 2025, defeating Jacob Cardenas on points. This new
challenge could be a difficult one for Nickal. Muradov previously
won Olympic gold in freestyle wrestling at the 2008 Games in
Beijing in the 96kg (212 pounds) category. He also has far more
experience than the American collegiate wrestling standout.

RAF Moscow streams live on Fox Nation on Sept. 5.

3x NCAA Champ and Dan Hodge Trophy winner
Bo
Nickal will face Olympic Champ Shirvani Muradov SEP 5 at RAF
MOSCOW.

Tickets coming soon. Join the presale list at the link in bio.

Watch live on @foxnation in the
U.S. Additional international broadcast details to be announced.
pic.twitter.com/YCyQiP4thk

â€” Real American Freestyle (@RAFWrestlingUSA)
August 4, 2026

MMA

Alex Pereira says Josh Hokit would be much easier fight than Sergei Pavlovich

Published

7 hours ago

October 25, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

Alex Pereira says Josh Hokit would be 'much easier' fight than Sergei Pavlovich

Alex
Pereira has explained his frustration with the
Ultimate Fighting Championship's heavyweight matchmaking.

Pereira (13-4) is scheduled to face Sergei
Pavlovich (21-3) at UFC
335 on Dec. 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Meanwhile,
Josh
Hokit (10-0) will face Ciryl Gane
(14-2) for the heavyweight title at UFC
334 on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Pereira said he initially expected either a rematch with Gane or a
grudge match against Hokit, but he sees the Pavlovich booking as a
favorable stylistic matchup.

Alex Pereira explains UFC matchmaking frustration and why
Sergei Pavlovich is more dangerous than Josh Hokit

Pereira lost his UFC heavyweight debut to Gane by technical
knockout in an interim title bout at
UFC Freedom 250. After Tom
Aspinall relinquished the undisputed championship, Pereira said
the promotion discussed a title rematch with Gane or a fight
against Hokit, who has repeatedly criticized â€œPoatan.â€

Pereira considers Hokit an easier opponent than Pavlovich.
Nevertheless, he said a conversation with UFC executive Hunter
Campbell resolved his frustration, and he now looks forward to the
December bout.

â€œWhat got me more upset at that time was because they told me that
I was possibly going to fight Gane for the belt or fight Hokit,â€
Pereira told Ariel Helwani. â€œAnd then none of that happened. Coming
from a loss, fighting Hokit would be much, much easier for me than
fighting Pavlovich, who’s supposed to be a harder fight. Hokit
would be a much easier fight for me. We got together [with Hunter
Campbell], we talked, we straightened things out, so it was fine.
Pavlovich is a little more dangerous opponent, but looking at it in
a technical way today, I see that it’s actually also a very good
fight for me.â€

Alex
Pereira reveals what upset him about the UFC’s decision not to
book him against Ciryl Gane
or Josh
Hokit: â€œWhat got me more upset at that time was because they
told me that I was possibly going to fight Gane for the belt or
fight Hokit. And then none of that happened. Coming from a loss,
fighting Hokit would be much, much easier for me than fighting
Pavlovich, who’s supposed to be a harder fight. Hokit would be a
much easier fight for me. We got together [with Hunter Campbell],
we talked, we straightened things out, so it was fine. Pavlovich is
a little more dangerous opponent, but looking at it in a technical
way today, I see that it’s actually also a very good fight for
me.â€

â€” Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani)
October 21, 2026

MMA

Islam Makhachev reveals why he turned down January fight with Carlos Prates

Published

9 hours ago

October 25, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

Islam Makhachev reveals why he turned down January fight with Carlos Prates

Islam Makhachev has spoken up about why he's not fighting Carlos Prates in January.

For the last few weeks, the MMA world has been flooded with rumors that Makhachev would defend his welterweight title against Prates at UFC 336 in January; however, on Saturday, the UFC announced that those rumors are untrue. Instead, Prates will take on Michael Morales for an interim welterweight title at UFC 336, with the winner unifying against Makhachev sometime next year.

â€œPrates and Morales will fight, determine who a true worthy contender, and I will fight [the winner]. They will [fight] among themselves. â€¦

â€œThey offered me a fight with Prates, who recently lost to a [Ian Machado Garry] who I beat. If I beat him, Morales would already be next in line, who's not fighting and waiting for [a title shot]. Just let them fight and we will figure out who is the real challenger.â€

Ramadan begins on Feb. 7 and concludes on March 8 in 2027, meaning it is unlikely we will see Makhachev again until next summer.

MMA

Carlos Prates blasts ‘coward’ Islam Makhachev for UFC 336 withdrawal, vows to retire him

Published

19 hours ago

October 25, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

Carlos Prates blasts ‘coward’ Islam Makhachev for UFC 336 withdrawal, vows to retire him

Carlos Prates put Islam Makhachev on blast after the UFC announced his fight with Michael Morales for the interim belt on Jan. 30.

â€œThe Nightmareâ€ was in talks with the promotion to book a UFC 336 clash with the welterweight champion in Toronto, Canada, but will now face Morales after the Russian informed the UFC he wouldn't be ready to fight on that date.

Prates took to social media after UFC's official announcement on Saturday to criticize the champion.

â€œIslam Makhachev, I've been working toward my dream of becoming a champion for 17 years, and now you've postponed that,â€ Prates wrote in Portuguese. â€œI'm the No. 1. I knocked out two former champions, while Morales has only beaten Sean Brady.

â€œYou told the UFC you wouldn't be ready to fight in three months. Brother, you don't drink, you don't smoke, you don't party, and you can't get ready for a fight in three months? Let me show you how it's done. On January 30, I'm going to knock out Michael Morales, and then I'll be back to retire you, you coward!â€

Prates is on a three-fight winning streak in the UFC, all by knockout, and has finished his opponents in all seven octagon victories. Morales, on the other hand, is unbeaten as a professional with 19 straight victories, seven of those under the UFC banner.

Makhachev took a shot at Prates by pointing out the fact he has recently beat Ian Machado Garry, the only man to defeat the Brazilian in the UFC.

â€œI just beat the guy who chased you around the octagon for five rounds,â€ Makhachev wrote. â€œShut up and go train. You're not on my level. See you soon. #maybeâ€

â€œAs soon as we find out who the real contender is, we'll be right back,â€ he added in separate tweets. â€œWe have to now who is better who deserve.â€

UFC 336 will take place at the Scotiabank Arena and feature Joshua Van's flyweight title defense against Manel Kape as the headliner.